I've just been informed by tech support that the reason my laptop has been sluggish and occasionally shuts down without warning over the last couple of months is because the hard drive is failing. I'm thinking of just getting a new hard drive (a bigger one, so that part is a good news) instead of getting a completely new laptop as I'd like to if money were no concern.

But I'm not sure what brand of hard drive is the most reliable. Suggestions? I've been using a Western Digital EHD for nearly a year and I'm fine with it, but I haven't really tested it, because it actually stays off most of the time, as it's for back up. Is one brand more reliable than others, or is it like the Canon/Nikon question, a matter of preference?

Thanks for help in this decision. I have to make up my mind fast so I can call tech support back and let them know.

I've been happy with my HP Pavilion Entertainment 17" (although next time I would get a smaller screen for easier portability... this one is too big to use on an airplane) If you buy it at Costco, the Costco Concierge is the first place to call if you have support questions--they are quite helpful ... although I've also heard it's good to buy at Best Buy and get the deluxe warranty so you can just drop your PC off for repairs if you spill something on it or it has trouble working.

I have an HP Dell Pavilion also which I love, but Kerry is right - it is too heavy, lol! My dh did not understand why I wanted a rolling laptop bag for it.

Having said that, it is a great laptop! My son got the same one as his main machine for college.

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was,the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child....... Forest Witcraft :http://scrapgirls.co...ES_MOM-Past.gifI am not shopping; I am supporting graphic artists.

When I took my 6-year old Dell desktop in for service this past spring, I asked about whether I should just start looking for a new PC since I needed more disk space and more memory as well. He looked at my computer and then at me and said I’d NEVER be able to buy a computer of any kind that would last as long as the one I had. He said he is constantly getting new computers in with failing parts, most still under warranty; that it really doesn’t matter what ‘brand’ you buy, the parts are all made by a limited number of companies and they are more cheaply made each year. It’s the luck of the draw whether you will get a computer that will last a while or not. The consumers demand for cheap cost and corporation’s fixation on profit over anything else have brought us to this point, and we’ll probably never see the quality of the past ever again. Very sad, but I’m afraid that this speaks for most everything we buy now . . .

Good luck on your search. I put more memory and a second drive in my Dell, and it’s still chugging along. I also have an older (4years?) WD My Book EHD that I use for back-ups that still works fine, but I only turn it on when I do a backup.

I asked the same disk question as you and he said that all of the top suppliers are pretty much the same—that you might get one that works for a long time and you might get one that fails early. So, just get one that has the longest warranty and keep your fingers crossed!

If you go the new laptop route, I have been hearing good things from some of my PC Newsletter sites about the HP Pavilion dv7-4183c. Go to a site like PC Magazine and search for laptop reviews. You’re still at the mercy of parts, however; as well as the training and experience of the people putting the computers together. No one can tell you about the long-term stability of a new computer and a companies past reputation doesn’t have the meaning it used to.

I hunger for the days when you’d order a personalized Dell and the computer would be put together and tested out before being shipped to you. And a failed part over a 4-5 year time period was a once-in-a-blue-moon occurance.

You could check out a website like tigerdirect and find your size drive (and the speed you want). The nice thing about tigerdirect is that you can see reviews on the drives. You don't have to buy though them there but it's a good site for reviews. Then you can price check around for a good deal. Lots of sales going on already and I"m sure the day after Thanksgiving will be full of internet sales. it usually is. I'm about to change harddrives on my mac so I'm looking too. I'm hoping for a sale soon!
I was just thinking. I did hear that active hard drives usually last around a year. I've had ones last longer but I don't rely on that anymore.